In searching for forgotten gems from Journey, we left aside arena-filling efforts from Escape through Trial by Fire — which combined sold some 18 million copies. Been there, done that, right?

Brutally described in a review of their eponymous 1978 debut by Rolling Stone as pros with no poetry, the effortlessly polished and sleekly listenable Toto has been dismissed from the first.

Affably difficult to dislike, yet seldom transcendent as a solo artist, Ringo Starr would become the only ex-Beatle who failed to earn an individual chart-topper in his native Britain. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t hidden moments to enjoy.

Anyone can recite, bass line and verse, their favorite moments from Yes’ seminal 1972 release Close to the Edge. Everybody knows about the mountains coming out of the sky, and how they stood there, too.

As the anniversary of John Lennon’s vicious murder looms on December 8, 2012, we didn’t return to his best-known hits — after all, there’ll be plenty of “Imagine,” “Watching the Wheels,” “#9 Dream” and Beatles favorites to go around.

When excavating for deep cuts from Pink Floyd, you must first avoid Dark Side of the Moon which, after its decades-long run on the album charts, has a distinct air of been-there-done-that familiarity.

You’ve heard the hits, from the sublime (“Maybe I’m Amazed,” “Junior’s Farm,” “Band on the Run”) to the ridiculous (“Let ‘Em In,” “Ebony and Ivory,” the perfectly named “So Bad”). But what of those tucked-away gems by Paul McCartney?

We were brought back to the late George Harrison this week with the release of Early Takes Volume 1, featuring 10 early outtakes and demos. The truth is, there is still much to discover about his solo work.

Much of the soundtrack to my college years was set to the tune of Dash Rip Rock, one of Louisiana’s premier party bands. It’s unfortunate that every time I mention the band to someone not from Louisiana or the surrounding states, I’m usually met by a blank stare, or maybe a Flintstones or Beverly Hillbillies reference.

You remember the Spin Doctors, right? A group of shaggy hairs who shot to superstardom as part of the whole tie-dyed H.O.R.D.E. of neohippies making fun-rock back in the 1990s.